


Midnight Snacks and Stolen Hearts

by Judeyjude



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Arctic Monkeys song, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, M/M, Meet-Cute, Pining Sirius Black, Remus is eccentric, Remus sleepwalks and talks, Sirius LOVES glitter, Sirius is like SIGN ME UP, a bit of angst, a few other hp background characters, and a sarcastic shit, and weird, but also a strange meet-cute, much pining, sweet innocent babies, these two lovebirds just lovebirding it up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-06
Updated: 2017-01-06
Packaged: 2018-09-15 05:19:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9220358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Judeyjude/pseuds/Judeyjude
Summary: The first time it happened, Sirius wondered if miracles were real.The second time it happened, he wondered what on earth he did to deserve something so wonderful, if only for a few moments.-Sirius falls head over heels for Frank's gorgeous and hilarious roommate. The catch? The stunning man is sleepwalking every time they meet and believes Sirius is just a dream.





	

**Author's Note:**

> TW: implied background trauma and minor mention

The first time it happened, Sirius wondered if miracles were real.

 

He intended to visit James and Lily for a few days. His best friend, however, had other plans in mind.

 

“C’mon Siri,” James begged, “Just a month! That’s all I’m asking. Your lease is up soon anyway and I have a feeling you’ll like it here. It’s calm and cute — two things I know you need.”

 

Sirius crossed his arms and frowned at the expensive winter coat James was holding out for him.

 

“No, James,” he firmly replied. “I’m fine and I can figure things out on my own. I don’t need your charity.”

 

James breezed past his best friend’s scowl with ease. He’d become immune to it when it developed in their preteens. He looked at the coat in his hands, the door, Sirius, the door, and back to Sirius again before letting a high-pitched grumble. Sitting down on the small bench by the door, he looked at Sirius expectantly.

 

Sirius was going to sit down next to James, they both knew that, but he liked to play hard-to-get. He pretended to have a moment of indecision before uncrossing his arms and sitting down slowly.

 

“This is _not_ charity, Siri. We’re brothers, aren’t we? Hey — ” He knocked Sirius’ knee with his own “ — what did we do when we were six, huh? After Trixie framed you for — ”

 

“For breaking dear Mother’s finest china,” Sirius finished, a reluctant smile forming. 

 

“And what did we do after?”

 

“Ran away, spent a night in the woods, caught pneumonia.”

 

_“Sirius.”_

 

“Fine, fine.” Sirius rolled his eyes and hung his head, letting strings of hair hide his face. “We cut our fingers and smeared our blood together because we’re — ”

 

“Blood brothers. We’re family — you’re my brother!” James threw an arm around Sirius and pulled him close. “Family doesn’t do charity, you dumb shit. We care for each other and I know that you’re running on the end of your inheritance money from Uncle Al. 

 

“Just come live with me and Lils. Nothing’s been the same without you and it’s been the loneliest year ever without you.”

 

An indignant _Hey!_ came from somewhere farther in the house.

 

“Sorry, Honey! You know I love you,” James shouted.

 

There was a loud crash, followed by a swear, and then the soft padding of feet as Lily came to the front door. Even with her red hair thrown up in a messy bun and wearing pajamas covered in patterned rubber ducks, she remained the most intimidating person Sirius had ever met. She pursed her lips and put her hands on her hips, nodding at her husband.

 

“It’s true, you know. This lazy lump huffs all day and night complaining about missing his partner in crime. He’s cried more times than I have fingers about how worried he is for you and,” she narrowed her eyes, “I know you have too.”

 

It was true. Sirius sobbed the first night he spent more than five miles away from James.

 

“Go out,” Lily said, not unkindly. “Enjoy this, don’t worry about anything else. Stay at least one week with us and if it happens to be that you want to say longer, that’s cool. No pressure. Alright?”

 

Sirius nodded his head and raised his it to meet her eyes. “Okay.”

 

James whooped and punched Sirius in the shoulder. 

 

Sirius shoved him aside, laughing. “One week! That’s all I’m promising.”

 

James grinned and handed him the winter coat.

 

“Where are we even going?”

 

James stood up and pulled open the door. 

 

He winked. “You’ll see.”

 

Sirius glanced at Lily helplessly. She raised her hands in the air.

 

“Nu-uh. I’m off babysitting duty. You’re responsible for whatever crazy antics he has planned.”

 

—

 

So, not entirely what Sirius had prepared himself for. 

 

“See, not bad, right? Just a chill night out,” James whispered to him, trailing a few steps behind the group.

 

“I like them,” Sirius confided. “They seem pretty nice.”

 

“Good! ‘Kay tell me if you feel overwhelmed at all or tired or anything and we can just walk back home.”

 

“Okay, I think I’m good, though.”

 

“Promise me you’ll say something if you feel off,” James insisted, leveling his eyes with Sirius.

 

Sirius rolled his eyes. “Yes, mother.”

 

James stuck out his tongue. “Watch your tone, sonny! Respect your elders.”

 

Sirius laughed and picked up the pace so they were back in line with James’ new friends.

 

They were heading back to Frank’s flat, an old schoolmate from Hogwarts, to hang out somewhere a little warmer. Sirius didn’t know the rest of the group, but he liked them. Especially the redheaded twins — they could rival him and James in terms of hilarity and past pranks. The couple, Dorcas and Mary he thinks their names were, were scary, but in the good sort like Lily. 

 

Frank led them into the apartment building and up a flight of stairs.

 

“It’s a bit messy,” he apologized. “Alice’s spending the weekend with her parents and…”

 

He trailed off and shrugged. Gideon, one of the wins, told him to open the damn door already and Dorcas belched loudly, complaining she was ready to birth a food baby after all the pizza from earlier.

 

After a few fumbles, Frank unlocked the door and the group piled in. 

 

The apartment was small but lavishly furnished. It wasn’t as posh as James and Lily’s cottage and that made Sirius feel a bit better. He’d become rather sensitive about money in the past few years.

 

“So!” Frank clapped his hands. “To the kitchen? You still like to play poker, Sirius?”

 

“I haven’t played since school but I’m pretty sure I can still kick your ass, Longbottom.”

 

Frank grinned and clapped him on the shoulder, steering him down a hallway and into a lit kitchen. The others were already seated at the small table that was pushed up against a wall, next to a door. Sirius assumed it must be a pantry and took the empty seat James saved next to him.

 

—

 

Sirius had fallen off his chair in barks of laughter, clutching his stomach on the floor, when the door behind him opened. 

 

An eerie hush fell over the table and Sirius’ breath caught in his throat as he assumed there must be a giant spider behind him or something horrible. He slowly turned his head but instead of a spider, there was a large pair of bare feet.

 

Frank burst into laughter. “What are you doing?”

 

“Piss off, Longbottom. You’re the one interrupting my midnight snack.”

 

Sirius shivered at the gravelly voice and dragged his eyes up to see exactly who the owner of the voice was. His heart leaped into his throat when he discovered Bare Feet would be more appropriately named Bare Body. 

 

At least he was wearing underwear. 

 

Sirius quickly moved his eyes up higher but the most he could see from down on the floor was that Bare Body had a spectacular jawline. He easily stepped over Sirius without a glance in his direction and slinked over to the refrigerator. 

 

Frank was lost in a fit of giggles and the rest of the group just watched as Bare Body, completely unfazed about being mostly naked in front of a crowd of strangers, pulled out a slice of six-layered chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. They rummaged through a drawer, picking up seven different spoons and frowning and each before placing them back in. After three more attempts, they found a fork and smiled. 

 

With an air of pride, Bare Body marched back to the open doorway. 

 

Sirius only had a glimpse of the Not-Pantry-But-Actually-Bedroom before the door slammed shut.

 

Frank offered up no explanation other than,

 

“He’s going to fucking murder me in the morning.”

 

—————————

 

The second time it happened, Sirius knew miracles were real and wondered what on earth he did to deserve something so wonderful, if only for a few moments.

 

“Wow.”

 

James nudged Sirius’ foot, smirking. 

 

Sirius knew it was ridiculous to get light-headed over a person he hadn’t even formally met, but the dose of euphoria swam through his bloodstream nonetheless at the scratchy voice.

 

After slyly inquiring about who this midnight-snack enthusiast was a few days after the first contact, Frank explained he was a friend of Alice’s. He said that at least from his knowledge, their pronouns were he/him and his name was Remus. 

 

So far, Frank believed Remus didn’t remember anything from the night. He hadn’t said anything about it nor killed Frank in his sleep. 

 

Frank wouldn’t go into much more detail, saying that was Remus’ business, but it seemed that maybe he was in a similar situation as Sirius. His stay with the Longbottoms was ambiguously indefinite at the time.

 

“I think I might stay a few extra days… or weeks,” Sirius had said later at home while chopping up carrots for dinner. 

 

Lily had looked at James in bemusement and James made an _I don’t know_ face. 

 

James, though, caught on pretty quick to Sirius’ incentive to extend his visit after Sirius dropped hints about wanting to play poker again soon. He hoped that maybe Remus would be invited to play with them so they could have a real introduction.

 

He had been reluctant when James proclaimed himself as wingman but he did get the two of them back in Frank’s apartment a day later, so his lips were sealed from complaints.

 

Sirius turned around in his seat at the drawled, and slightly sarcastic, _wow._

 

Green eyes, slightly glazed and staring at an unseen spot in the air, captivated him. Remus’ hooded eyelids and tussled head screamed how sleepy he was and Sirius considered taking a picture with his phone.

 

Remus sure was something else entirely. 

 

He blinked three times, coming back to the present and spoke again.

 

“I’m having the fucking weird dream again.”

 

Frank, less hysterical than last time but still very much amused, asked, “How do you know this is a dream, Rem?”

 

Remus frowned and swiped his tongue over his lip. Sirius got another look at his sharp jawline (much welcome and appreciated) as the sleep-walker turned to take in the people sitting at the table. 

 

Dorcas and Marlene snorted when green eyes settled on their clasped hands and the appraising, but not lewd, “nice” that followed. 

 

Sirius’ mental happy dance over the “nice” possibly hinting that Remus could be gay or bi or pan came to a depressing halt when his eyes passed over Sirius without a pause and settled on James instead.

 

“Yeah, this definitely is a dream.”

 

“Why?” Frank pressed.

 

“That sweater,” Remus said, pointing to James, “is so _fucking_ atrocious.”

 

The stunned silence only lasted a millisecond before the group erupted in laughter. James spluttered but there wasn’t much of a comeback or explanation that he could make — the sweater was piss yellow with brown pompoms hanging in random patches and had four horizontal green stripes across the chest. The back had a wonky Santa face (the Potters didn’t even celebrate Christmas) that covered two-thirds of it. 

 

Sirius shrieked the loudest. 

 

“Mm-mm,” Remus sassed as he walked over to the oven, giving a nice backside view of his tan body. “No way in hell would someone actually wear that.”

 

Yep, Sirius was under Remus’ spell.

 

He was always one to fall into passion in the snap of a finger, but it had only been to hobbies. Motorcycling? Bargained hours of free work to a mechanic in exchange for tinkering with a crappy old bike within a week of his sudden interest. Cooking? By the end of the month, Mama Potter confessed that his curry was nearly as good as hers — a favorite dish by all those who’d come across it in her thirty years of cooking.

 

This was the first time he’d ever felt this way toward another person. 

 

Sirius wanted to know all of Remus’ interests, did he like tea or coffee or neither? Did he like reading or movies? What was his favorite subject in school? Were sun and clouds more beautiful than stars and moon? 

 

He wanted to take him on dates and snuggle with him on rainy days.

 

Come on, how could someone see how adorable those lower back dimples were and not be head over heels?

 

“Hey, I didn’t know there were cookies!” Fabian protested, pointing at Remus, who had closed the oven door.

 

Remus shoved an entire chocolate chip cookie in his mouth and smiled, crumbs falling out. He paraded back to his room, slamming the door again.

 

“ _I_ didn’t even know we had cookies,” Frank grumbled.

 

Sirius was more caught up on the fact that Remus’ boxers were covered in tiny black dogs.

 

Sirius would use the words spirited and stunning over calm and cute but maybe James had a point about this place. He wasn’t ready yet to give his blood brother the satisfaction of being right, though not in the way James intended, by saying he was thinking he might really like this town.

 

—————————

 

Poker Night became a biweekly event among the twins, the couple, the blood brothers, and Frank. In reality, there was hardly any poker and more eating contests, laughing and chatting, and music. They didn’t hang out at Frank’s for Remus, though him popping out occasionally was a bonus, but more for the fact that Frank and Alice’s home was relaxing and always warm.

 

Plus, they had dozens of board games and their fridge was always packed with snacks and drinks.

 

Remus didn’t always come out for a midnight snack and Sirius’ stomach weighed a little heavier with disappointments those nights. When he did emerge from the room next to Sirius’ chair, he usually ignored them and went straight to whatever chocolate delight he had secretly stashed in the kitchen. 

 

Frank was often met with a middle finger, a crafted raised eyebrow, and silence whenever he made an attempt to engage him in conversation. Alice hung out with Lily every time they were over. The one time she stopped back at the apartment to grab a DVD and saw Remus standing on top of the counter, reaching above the cabinets to pull out hidden chocolate bars, she left the house saying, “I don’t even want to know and I was never here.”

 

It was Sirius’ fourth week with the Potters and sixth time seeing Remus when he started referring to the bedroom at the cottage as his instead of James and Lily’s guest room.

 

He was hopelessly infatuated with the charming and hard to swallow chocolate-obsessed sleepwalker.

 

—————————

 

“REMUS!”

 

Frank bolted from his seat and pushed Remus back into the room.

 

“Put some clothes on!” He yelled before kicking the door closed.

 

—————————

 

James couldn’t get Sirius to talk for ten minutes after Remus walked into the kitchen wearing smudged eyeliner.

 

When he finally came back to his senses Sirius whispered, “I don’t know if I hate my life or love it.”

 

—————————

 

_Yoo, don’t you have a tattoo of a dog footprint?_

 

Sirius blinked at the text from Dorcas.

 

“Siri!” James shouted from the doorway. “A little help with this box!”

 

Sirius and James were in the process of moving Sirius’ stuff from his old shitty apartment to James’ house now that the lease was up. He lived a ten-hour drive away and Gideon let them borrow his pickup truck to bring back some boxes. The cheap furniture was thrown out on the street with handwritten FREE signs taped to it.

 

“Uh, ya,” Sirius yelled. “One second!”

 

He texted Dorcas confirming the tattoo on his collarbone and asked why before tucking his phone away and jogging to James.

 

“Oh, shit this is heavy.” Sirius puffed out a breath of air as he held one side of the box.

 

He forgot to check his phone until six hours later when they were driving home.

 

_Lmfaooo_

 

_your sleep-walker made an appearance last night and was suuuuuuuppperrr grumpy. he demanded the fridge to explain what the point of this dream was if Doggo wasn’t there_

 

_;)_

 

—————————

 

“What an asshole,” Sirius scoffed.

 

“Mhm,” Lily hummed, taking a sip of her chocolate.

 

James wouldn’t be home from work for another forty-five minutes and Lily and Sirius were deep in a gossip sesh. They had pushed two armchairs together and wore matching bright pink Snuggies, warm hot chocolate in hands.

 

“You want me to smack some sense into him?” Sirius offered, tucking a curl behind his ear with the hand not holding the cocoa.

 

Lily shook her head. “I heard he’s getting fired next week and anyway, I’m more interested in news on lover boy.”

 

“Well…” Sirius drank a few mouthfuls. “He looked at me the other day.”

 

“And?”

 

Sirius drank more of his hot chocolate (an appropriate drink to have when discussing Remus) and acted nonchalantly. “Well, he stared at me for, like two whole minutes and after he said ‘ _I’m starting to like this dream’_.”

 

Lily squealed and set down her mug, pulling her legs underneath her and pushing on her toes so she could move closer to Sirius. 

 

_“And?”_ She pressed.

 

“And… then he shoved a handful of chocolate chips in his mouth and closed his door.” 

 

Sirius set his mug down next to Lily’s after she threw her head back and groaned.

 

“Hey! I’m not going to chat him up with a whole audience watching me while he’s in his boxers!” Sirius harrumphed. 

 

“Besides, he makes my tongue swell up and I’d probably vomit if I opened my mouth in front of him — I just know it!”

 

Sirius pouted and pulled his Snuggie tighter around him until he was a giant ball of pink fuzz. He whined in the back of his throat while burrowing his face into the fluff.

 

“It’s so _unfair,_ ” he moaned, “How is anyone allowed to be that pretty? He has all these freckles around his eyes and nose and his eyes are like rubies — ”

 

“ — rubies are red.”

 

Sirius glared and waved his hand carelessly. “Green rubies or whatever — you know what I mean. Sparkly and majestic and shit. I just want to drown in them and live inside his ribs.”

 

Lily snorted and deadpanned, “So you can feel what it’s like to be a part of something truly beautiful?”

 

“Exactly!”

 

“God, now I know what it was like to be you when James was love-crazy.” She shimmied out of her Snuggie and added, “It’s creepier and sappier than I expected.”

 

Sirius straightened his back, offended. “First, James is _still_ pathetically love-crazy about you. After last weekend I can recite twenty-one reasons why your cheekbones are a god-given gift

 

“And second,” Sirius sniffed, slapping her forearm, “ _rude_.”

 

Lily laughed and picked her cup back up, smirking as she drew a long sip. “I don’t see why you don’t ask Frank for his number or stop by during the day. Put on your Big Boy Pants.”

 

“Frank says this is the most he’s seen him talk. What if he sees me and decides I’m not worth talking to?”

 

Sirius looked so close to the small, haunted boy Lily had seen in the pictures James kept from their childhood. His grey eyes were downcast and stormy. She tipped his chin back up and met his eyes fiercely. 

 

“ _No one_ can resist a Potter’s charm.” 

 

Sirius’ heart skipped a beat; he’d never get used to being called a Potter over a Black. 

 

“Now, why don’t I pour us some more hot cocoa and put in extra marshmallows? You can tell me again what the exact shade of chocolate his skin is for the millionth time and then I’ll braid your hair.”

 

Sirius perked up. “Fishtail?”

 

Lily smiled. “I have some glitter we can put in it, too.”

 

Sirius beamed and handed his mug over, asking for extra extra marshmallows. 

 

—————————

 

Remus locked gazes with Sirius’ hair when he walked out of his room. He stepped forward and lifted a hand.

 

“Pretty,” he murmured.

 

Sirius held his breath and prayed he wouldn’t faint during the pinnacle of his life. A gentle hand ghosted over his braid.

 

Sirius’ lip bled from biting too hard and he chanced a look at Remus’ face only to see his two-month long crush. Remus was staring down at his hand coated in red and purple glitter with dazed eyes.

 

His smile was a new one and it was instantly Sirius’ favorite. It was crooked and pulled up on the left side of Remus’ face, exposing half of his teeth. A sharp canine tooth glinted in the fluorescent kitchen light and Sirius had the urge to press his finger to it, to feel how pointy it was. One of his front teeth dragged on the bottom lip for a prolonged second.

 

Remus walked back into his room, still absorbed with his sparkling hand, without a chocolate snack.

 

—————————

 

The fourteenth time Sirius saw Remus, only he, James, and Frank were hanging out. 

 

Fab and Gid had to attend their nephew’s birthday party and responded to the group text with a picture of a giant stuffed animal dinosaur someone stitched for the boy. Dorcas and Mary never responded and Alice, as usual, was having a Girls’ Night with Lily.

 

James and Frank were caught in the middle of an argument over a game of Go Fish.

 

“YOU HAVE A SIX! I know you do!”

 

“You callin’ me a cheat, Longbottom?”

 

“No, I’m calling you a damn filthy liar that sleeps in trash and feeds on children’s hopes and dreams!”

 

Sirius smiled absently while his eyes were drawn to the fridge. His stomach grumbled. He saw a chocolate pudding cup in there earlier when Frank opened it to get a few sodas but he probably should leave that untouched. He’d prefer to stay away from Remus’ bad side, in case the gorgeous man was saving it for later.

 

It wasn’t an unfounded fear. Once, Fabian was starting to eat a Cadbury bar that Remus had wanted. He stormed over and pulled it right out Fab’s hands, smacked his face with it, and brought it back to the room with him.

 

Speaking of the apple of Sirius’ eye, Remus, unfortunately, would be a no-show tonight. It was only nine o’clock and Remus never appeared until eleven or later.

 

Only a few seconds into daydreaming about the cute clump of freckles that shaped into a smiley face if you squinted at Remus’ adorably pudgy tummy, the evening took a drastic turn. 

 

A bloodcurdling scream pierced the apartment — a sound that would haunt all of their dreams and reverberate through their blooming guilt.

 

Sirius scrambled out of his chair, knocking it over in the process, and threw Remus’ bedroom door open. In the back of his mind, he irrationally worried over the fact that Remus didn’t keep his door locked. 

 

James was right behind him, out of mindless instinct from the years Sirius was plagued with traumatic nightmares.

 

They halted, their eyes burned with the image of Remus twitching in his sleep and choking out jumbled words in between sobs. A sheen of sweat coated his face and the rest of his body was wrapped in sheets. The darkness of the room and the ominous moonlight shining through the window made it seem like his bedspread was strangling him.

 

Frank yanked the two of them out of the room and gave both of them a hard shove in the chest.

 

“Leave,” he ordered. “Now!”

 

It was as if Remus’ terror and hurt seeped into Sirius’ body, twisting his insides in panic. An invisible wire that would rather bend the sharpest of scissors and break the most lethal knives than fall apart and sever, grew stronger between them in that moment. 

 

All Sirius knew was that he wanted — no _needed —_ to be there for Remus.

 

“I can help!” He pleaded, trying to move around Frank’s stocky stature. “I’ve had nightmares like this — I know how to help, let me — I can, just — I know _what it’s like —_ ”

 

James softly said _Sirius_ and placed a firm grip on his shoulder to stop the frantic movements. Frank reacted the opposite, becoming a hard and cold that Sirius had never seen in their seven years of school together. 

 

“Sirius, I can’t talk about your stupid crush right now! You need to fucking leave. This isn’t your place to be. _He doesn’t even know you_ and you don’t know anything! He needs me, fuck, he needs Alice.”

 

From behind Frank, they could hear Remus crying _no, no, no._

 

James stepped in front of Sirius, shielding him in a protective stance.

 

“Go to Remus,” James urged their friend. “I’ll call Lily and have her send Alice back this way. Lily will drive her so she doesn’t have to walk in the dark.”

 

Frank heaved a sigh, grateful and terrified.

 

“Thanks, I’ve never done this alone before, I just…”

 

“You’ve got this, man, go,” James’ voice raised in urgency, his heart racing for poor Remus.

 

Frank nodded and spun on his heel, entering the room and shutting it behind him. 

 

Sirius lingered. He could hear muffled talking but the crying didn’t cease.

 

“Siri, we need to leave. This isn’t right.”

 

James moved his hand from Sirius’ shoulder and down to his wrist. Sirius numbly let himself be guided.

 

—

 

“Siri?”

 

Sirius ignored the knocking on his door and pulled his sheets up. He heard James slump against the door.

 

“You need to talk to me or I’m gonna have to pick your lock… What’s going on? Were you triggered?”

 

Sirius nodded and then remembered James couldn’t see him. He verbalized his yes, which wasn’t technically a lie. Remus’ screaming and nightmare brought flashbacks of why Sirius used to have nightmares. Snapshots of his father shouting degrading names and threats, his mother yanking his hair and chopping his locks off while he cried, and his cousins ganging up on him flashed through his mind vibrantly.

 

He was fairly numb to those memories after all these years, though. He’d worked through that baggage and while they would always hurt, he’d been able to take away the power those events had over him. 

 

What really was making him depressed and drawing into himself was shame and guilt. He could tell the difference between someone having a nightmare about something like ravenous sharks and someone dreaming about trauma. He could only imagine how Remus would feel knowing that two strangers — because that was what he and James were — witnessing something as vulnerable as that. 

 

Sirius would have been mortified if he was Remus. 

 

“This isn’t your fault,” James said through the wall, knowing Sirius’ train of thoughts too well.

 

“Why didn’t we have Frank tell him he sleepwalked?” Sirius’ voice cracked. “Why didn’t we stop going there at night?”

 

James went silent for a few minutes. He never sugarcoated things nor was quick to comfort without thinking it through.

 

“We should have,” he agreed eventually. “But it wasn’t like we were going there on purpose to humiliate him or watch him like a freak show. We have responsibility for invading his privacy… but… you can’t dwell on it too much. 

 

“What’s done is done. We’ll own up to the mistake and apologize.”

 

Sirius mulled it over. He considered the fact that confronting Remus might make him more embarrassed. Would it be better to get his number and text? 

 

No, that might seem too flippant and insincere.

 

“I’ll give you some space but dinner is ready in twenty and Lily will whoop your ass if you don’t eat and drink some water.”

 

James knocked on the door to emphasize his point and walked away.

 

—————————

 

**hey…**

 

**sorry I was harsh the other night**

 

**u r a great guy Si, it was just a bad moment and i’m sorry i screamed @ u**

 

**i can bring over the cookbook of Ally’s that you like? olive tree branch?**

 

Sirius stared at the three texts and threw his phone across the bed and pulled the covers back over his head.

 

—————————

 

“Sirius, cheer up. It’s been a week. You baked him a chocolate pie and gave it to Alice to give to him.” Lily rebraided the end of her hair as she chided Sirius. “If you keep complaining I’ll just bath bomb shop on my own.”

 

Sirius whined in the back of his throat. He wasn’t leaving without that sparkly bath bomb Lily promised him. 

 

He lasted two minutes and forty-seven seconds (yes, he was counting) before he opened his mouth again.

 

“He probably _hates_ me, Lily. I should have asked for his number from the beginning. 

 

“I just really like him… And not because he is the most gorgeous thing to exist, which he is, but because he’s amazing. There was just this… spark to him. Like he’s full of mysteries and wonder. 

 

“I don’t know. I feel like I fucked up the most important thing.”

 

Lily had browsed the store, waited in line, and bought the products they chose, insisting on paying, by the time Sirius ended his venting. He sighed and kicked at the floor, then flinched at the sharp pain it gave his big toe.

 

“Uh… Sirius?”

 

Lily’s abnormally high-pitched voice brought Sirius’ head up. 

 

Standing frozen in the doorway of the shop was Remus, a paper bag branded with the logo of the local bookstore clutched in his hands.

 

Sirius willed the universe to open a black hole underneath him and bring him straight to hell. 

 

To be fair, the handsome man wasn’t glaring at him or fleeing away. The small flash of shock on his face told them he had heard Sirius but his cheeks weren’t flushed and he didn’t look embarrassed.

 

Sirius, conversely, was beet-red. He inwardly cursed himself for pulling his hair up in a high bun that morning, preventing him from hiding his face with hair.

 

Remus’ gaze flickered over his body before coming back to Sirius’ eyes. His stare when wide-awake was even more stirring than his sleep-heavy one. His eyes were a pale jade in the sunlight peeking out from the clouds. 

 

His expression was indecipherable and after a minute he swiped his tongue over his lips before walking away.

 

“We’re going to need more bath bombs aren’t we?” Lily asked.

 

—————————

 

Sirius slowly woke to the sound of the fire alarm. His vision swam as he rubbed his eyes and assessed the situation. There was no heat, no smell of smoke, and no James screeching.

 

“Who the fuck is cooking,” Sirius muttered under his breath, checking the clock by his bed, “at one a.m.?”

 

He sat in bed and hoped for the beeping to stop.

 

It did not.

 

He heaved a sigh and threw off the covers. Hissing as feet met the cold floor, Sirius fumbled through his room to find a pair of clothes. He yanked on some random tank top and a pair of basketball shorts he stole from James (“If they aren’t lounging pants then why are they so soft? Sports, shmorts. They’re mine now!”). 

 

His hair probably looked more like Scar’s mane from The Lion King than its usual luscious locks but his wrist was void of hairbands. Walking down the hallway and to the source of the incessant beeping, Sirius rubbed his face — it was too damn early for this shit.

 

As he passed the living room, he called out, “What the hell, James?”

 

“Yeah,” a voice responded from the kitchen, “I don’t know how to turn this fucking thing off. I’d smash it against the wall but I thought that would be rude.”

 

Heart pounding, Sirius entered the kitchen. Remus stood on a chair in the middle of the room, poking the fire detector on the ceiling at random. A thin veil of grey smoke came from the stove behind.

 

Sirius’ jaw hit the floor.

 

Remus sighed and placed his hands on his hips, moving his feet on the chair to face Sirius more. “Are you going to help?”

 

“Uh, er, uh,” Sirius stammered. 

 

He clamped his mouth shut and thought, _at least I didn’t vomit_.

 

Sirius stepped forward and hesitantly held out his hand. Remus stared at the extended palm for a moment before taking it. He hopped down and Sirius tried to pretend that the skin-on-skin contact didn’t triple his heartbeat. 

 

A million questions racing through his head — what the fuck? is this real? wHaT thE fuCK? — as Sirius stepped up. He prided himself on having enough focus to turn the damn alarm off.

 

With the sudden absence of the beeping, Sirius realized that some fast-paced Spanish music was coming from Lily’s speakers by the stove. Remus stood next to it, a plate in hand and frantically waving it at the smoke. 

 

“What’s that?” Sirius asked, gaining control of his vocal cords, and pointed at the speakers.

 

Breezing past the question, Remus held out a second plate and Sirius stepped down and crossed the room. He took it and looked back and forth between Remus and the plate before deciding Remus expected him to join the plate-waving.

 

The smoke cleared up a bit and after a minute, Sirius spoke up again. “I don’t think this is doing much.”

 

He cringed the moment the words came out, praying he hadn’t insulted Remus.

 

Remus chuckled and Sirius swooned at the sweetness of it. Fuck, he really needed to get a grip. 

 

Placing the plate on the counter Remus said, “Yeah. But it was fun watching you help.”

 

Sirius busied himself with putting his and Remus’ plate back in the cupboards, trying to not think of what Remus thought of his appearance. He didn’t need someone to tell say how unattractive he looked in the mornings, he already knew that; he just wasn’t the type of person to wake up in perfection. At least forty minutes were needed in the bathroom before he deemed himself presentable. 

 

“It’s tango music,” Remus said, breaking Sirius’ train of worrying and nodding his head toward the speakers. “My Dad’s from Madrid and we used to take dance lessons together when I was younger.”

 

Sirius imagined a small Remus dancing, a mess of tawny hair bouncing and exaggerated moves that were just as sassy as his personality. 

 

“I can change it if you want…Do you like the Arctic Monkeys?” Remus, for the first time Sirius had seen in the past months, looked nervous and possibly… embarrassed? His tongue swiped back and forth over his bottom lip and he anxiously tugged at his right earlobe.

 

Sirius forced his eyes to stop following Remus’ delightfully pink tongue and asked, “Am I dreaming?”

 

Remus stopped his nervous ticks and smirked. “Oh,” he sighed. “How the tables have turned.”

 

Despite the clear good-natured but sharp teasing, Sirius flushed. 

 

“I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t — uh, it was wrong.” Sirius bowed his head. “I’m sorry.”

 

Remus simply turned to the speakers and turned the volume down. He scrolled through his phone and soon a new song came through. Sirius recognized the beat.

 

“Oh, I’ve heard this before. I like it.”

 

“Good,” Remus responded. “Now let’s eat pancakes.”

 

A stack of pancakes Sirius hadn’t noticed was sitting on the kitchen counter. Sirius glanced at the stove suspiciously, surprised at the difference between the burnt black mess in the pan and the golden ones on the plate.

 

Remus walked ahead of him and pulled out a chair. Sirius sat down on it, still confused as hell to why Remus was in James’ kitchen, pouring syrup over a stack of pancakes he cooked, and seeming right at home, but also impossibly charmed by the chivalrous gesture.

 

“Thanks for apologizing.” Remus swallowed a bite of the food and scooted his chair outward so he could see Sirius’ face. “I mean the nightmare things is embarrassing and will never be spoken of again, but there’s a silver lining to everything, so.” He shrugged and poured on more syrup. 

 

Not seeing any plus side to having unknowingly sleep-walked in front of strangers numerous times, Sirius asked what he meant.

 

The special crooked smile appeared and Remus pushed another piece of pancake into his mouth, smiling through puffed cheeks like he knew the world’s best secret. 

 

Sirius shifted his eyes to the food, curious to why they were sharing one plate instead of using two separately, and started digging into the pancakes. His eyes fluttered shut — they were really good. 

 

Remus would have to show him the recipe sometime. The natural thought sunk in Sirius’ belly; there probably wouldn’t be a second time. The fact that Remus was actually speaking with him in the first place, when he was fully awake and conscious of the decision, was a miracle on its own. 

 

They ate in silence but it was a good kind, strangely peaceful and exhilarating all at once.

 

_“Have you no idea that you're in deep_

 

_“I dreamt about you nearly every night this week_ ,” came from the speakers.

 

“Kind of fitting, isn’t it?” Remus asked, gazing at Sirius intently, fork abandoned.

 

Sirius could only handle the searching green eyes for a moment before averting his own. When he looked back up, the ethereal boy looked forlorn and disappointed.

 

“How do you know Alice?”

 

Remus looked relieved at the topic change and Sirius counted it as a win, happy to see the upset wiped off the pretty face.

 

Remus launched into how they’d been best friends since he moved to her neighborhood when he was five. There seemed to be some story behind the reason he moved but Sirius didn’t push. Remus was kind in return when Sirius awkwardly stumbled over his family (desperately not wanting to go into that right then) and distracted Sirius by telling the story of how his parents met. While Remus had said his father was from Madrid, he actually was originally from Mexico. He had been best friends since diapers with his neighbor until his family moved to Spain. Fifteen years later, they met again on a train and fell instantly in love.

"Or, that's what they say," Remus said. "Love at second sight, I guess?"

 

It reminded Sirius of James' parents and how hopelessly in love they were after all these years. He felt himself opening up about them and then James, how the two of them were similar to Alice and Remus. They began swapping childhood stories, caught in a contest to see who could make the other laugh more.

 

“You didn’t!” Sirius choked out through laughter.

 

Remus smiled, eyes wide, leaning forward toward Sirius and nodding. “We did! The best part is no one ever suspected Al or me for stirring trouble— always seen as the teachers’ pets and innocent angels.”

 

Sirius learned a lot about Remus. For instance, his eyes had specks of light brown in them, matching his freckles, and a thin scar ran through his eyebrow from an accident involving a roof and trampoline. He had three sisters that he loved dearly and his eyes welled when he spoke of his recently deceased mother. He swore just as much as he did when sleep-walking and from his knowledge, he’d never sleep-walked before. His voice was softer and Sirius had to lean forward a bit to hear it, the gravelly quality giving away to a silky smooth sound now that he was awake. 

 

Sirius didn’t mind this at all, any excuse to get closer to Remus was a blessing.

 

Sometimes he seemed to talk in riddles and his wit constantly surprised and kept Sirius on his toes. His humor was snarky but never offensive. He didn’t make many expressions but when he did, it was pure and authentic, the force of the emotion unhidden. 

 

“Okay, okay,” Sirius giggled. “Now I _have_ to ask you why you’re in my kitchen in the early hours of the morning.”

 

“Oh,” Remus said, apparently surprised that it wasn’t obvious. “Well, I wanted to see you again and your brother basically shoved the spare key in my face when I asked him if I could do this. I’m returning the favor.”

 

Sirius was grateful that his cheeks were already rosy from laughter, easily hiding his new blush. “You wanted to see me again?”

 

“Yes.” Remus paused, doing elevator eyes on Sirius while tapping his chin. “Though I have to say I’m disappointed that you didn’t return the favor of strutting in in your boxers.”

 

Sirius ducked his head. That was flirting, right? Was this actually happening? 

 

“I probably look gross either way.” Sirius decided to take a chance while still playing it safe. “You look a thousand times better after waking up than I do.”

 

Remus’ eyes roamed Sirius’ head and he smiled softly. “No, I like the messy bedhead look.”

 

Sirius was amazed he was able to spit out words, let alone try and be smooth. How could Remus be so confident?

 

“I… uh don’t really get along with people well. People think I’m off and I’m not really good at making friends,” Remus confessed, pulling on his earlobe again and dragged teeth over his lip. “It’s hard for me to open up to people and…”

 

“I’m kind of the same,” Sirius interjected, wanting to ease Remus’ building discomfort. “It’s kind of scary getting close to someone.”

 

“Yeah!” Remus nodded eagerly. “But I don’t know. This feels nice.”

 

Remus shrugged, no eloquent explanation for once.

 

“Yeah,” Sirius agreed, pancakes in his stomach doing backflips. “Nice.”

 

Remus hummed and swung his legs. Looking up through his eyes lashes, he murmured, “So… I have a confession.”

 

Sirius chuckled nervously. “As long as it’s not that this was a huge joke on me, I won’t mind.”

 

“Oh no! No, never that. Um.” Remus bit his lip. “I didn’t cook these pancakes.”

 

“Wait, what?”

 

“Uh…I wanted to impress you? That pie was literal heaven. So, naturally, I picked pancakes up from the diner down the road and then put batter on the stove to pretend that I made them.”

 

Remus rushed through the confession and covered his face with his hands while Sirius burst out laughing.

 

“Hey! Don’t be rude!” Remus revealed himself in order to slap Sirius’ shoulders. “If you saw how amazing you looked with that glitter braid, you’d want to impress you, too!”

 

“Oh my god, you remember that?”

 

Sirius had to shower Lily in endless gifts for making him look pretty enough for Remus to take interest.

 

“Of course. I remember all the nights.” Remus rolled his eyes. “Though, I thought they were dreams. But after that one, when I woke up with the glitter on my hands, I realized that it was actually real.”

 

“So.” Sirius giggled. “You tried to seduce me with food you pretended but didn’t actually make?”

 

“I’m the fucking shittiest cook ever! That burnt mess?” Remus pointed to the stove. “That was an actual attempt at a pancake _and_ it was already that black before the alarm went off!”

 

“You’re so fucking cute,” Sirius blurted.

 

Sirius blamed Remus for looking too goddamn adorable in his giddy expression for the next words that tumbled out of his mouth.

 

“I want to take you on a date. Shit, wait. Fuck, uh…”

 

Remus leaned forward and kissed Sirius between the eyes, lingering a few second before pulling back. It was a weird spot to kiss but it was so Remus-y and his lips were so soft and Sirius was ready to die happy. 

 

“This _is_ a date, you doofus. What the fuck do you think I’m trying to do? Bro it out with you, no homo?”

 

Sirius finally took in Remus’ getup. He had already noticed the thin (and hot as fuck) black eyeliner sweeping over the eyelids, but he failed to see the tight black skinny jeans, the worn-in but nice dark green jumper with brown elbow patches and a white collared shirt peeking out the top. It wasn’t fancy or extravagant but it obviously was a well thought out and casual, but date-night-worthy outfit.

 

Before he could get too distracted over just how bloody fantastic Remus looked and what Remus’ butt would look like in those jeans, Sirius asked, “You really want to date me?”

 

Remus slid off his chair and pulled Sirius down with him. He slapped Sirius’ face lightly and then cupped it, stroking his thumb over the cheek. “You’re my silver lining.”

 

Sirius watched, stunned and on cloud nine, as Remus walked away, swaying his hips, and went to the speakers. The music changed to a slower-paced song, serenaded in Spanish.

 

“Now come here so I can dance with you.”

 

Sirius couldn’t run into Remus’ arms fast enough, to hell with playing hard-to-get.

 

—————————

 

“My baby is all grown up,” James sniffed, wiping at his eyes. It was ten in the morning and they had just come home after spending the night at Fabian’s house.

 

Lily snorted at her husband. She whipped out her phone and took (several) pictures of the two lovebirds wrapped up in tangled limbs on the living room couch, completely knocked out.

 

Remus' face was smushed against Sirius' chest, his lips parted against the dog tattoo as if he'd kissed it before falling asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Bonus: A girl named Marlene asks them at Mary and Dorcas' wedding how they got together. Remus, snuggled in Sirius' lap, head tucked under his love's chin and nose nuzzled into his neck, just smirks and says Sirius was his dream boy. Sirius knows Remus is being a little shit and playing with words but he completely melts and has the silliest grin, like how am I with something so precious and wonderful.


End file.
